Yes, more information from the well-travelled territory of Pope Benedict XVI/Ratzinger's childhood during the war. This time, the Independent UK goes to his hometown and quotes a number of people quite hard on the teenage Ratzinger.
Yet, in Traunstein, some of the town's older residents feel that questions about the Pope's early years remain unanswered. Herta Kaiser, an 83-year-old pensioner recalled that several people in the town hid Jews from the Nazis and helped them to escape to neutral Switzerland. "Traunstein was not all Nazi, it was also a Catholic stronghold," she said.
There is no evidence that the Ratzinger family felt inclined to help the town's few remaining Jews, or the smattering of anti-Nazi resistance fighters who dared to oppose the regime.
Elizabeth Lohner, 84, whose brother-in-law was sent to Dachau concentration camp for being a conscientious objector, recalled: "It was possible to resist and those people set an example for others." She added: "The Ratzingers were young and made different choices."
In 1937, another Traunstein family hid a local anti-Nazi resistance fighter, named Hans Braxenthaler. He had been tortured in Dachau for his opposition to the regime. Frieda Meyer, 82, one of the Ratzinger family's neighbours at the time, said: "When Braxenthaler was betrayed and the Nazis came for him, he shot himself rather than give himself up."
And here's info I haven't read before about Ratzinger's mentor:
Ratzinger's election will also raise questions about the dubious role played by the Catholic Church during the Nazi era. The extent to which leading Catholics felt obliged to reach compromises with the regime is outlined by the stance taken by Ratzinger's mentor, Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber, one of the Pope's most important early influences.
Documented evidence shows that the cardinal visited Hitler's mountain retreat during the 1930s and was entertained to lunch by the Führer in person. During their meeting, Von Faulhaber is on record as telling Hitler that the Church saw him as an "authority chosen by God, to whom we owe respect".
Some mentor. As fallible human beings, I'm sure we can all empathize with the desire to not be harmed. Heck, this is how Naziism and the Holocaust flourished: the price of resisting seemed too high for too many people. But without being flippant or too judgmental, it's hardly crazy to expect a future Pope to do BETTER than most people, to rise above their fears and risk it all for what was so clearly the moral choice. 17 is hardly too young an age for that.
But this doesn't interest me. What DOES interest me is the Pope's attitude towards this painful and indeed shameful past. (It may be understandable, it is certainly defensible, but it is unquestionably a source of pain -- as opposed to the people who bravely resisted and paid the price.) In every quote from his memoir or statements about this time, Pope Benedict XVI explains and defends and rationalizes. I haven't seen any quotes about how this past must pain and sadden him. I'm CERTAIN there must be some at least pro forma statements to that effect. If anyone has an English language version of the memoir or can link to quotes from reputable media where the Pope talks about this defining episode and how it's shaped his worldview, I'd love to see it.
